The following documentation illustrates and details issues and processes related to food service implementation within the library facility. It also underscores the relationship with, and parallels to, the implementation of an Information Commons or EEA Cloud within a library environment.

In the same way that an EEA cloud responds to recognized trends, serves user-outreach efforts, and allows the library environment to behave in a flexible manner to user needs, so to does implementation of food service. Not only that, the two services are complimentary and dovetail in a number of ways that further augment and serve user purposes and needs.

Aspects covered in this example dialogue include:

1. Staff concerns
   

2. Cash cards/integrated purchasing
   

3. Library hours and cafe hours
   

4. Monitoring/security
   

5. Location/access
   

6. Partnering and/or outsourcing with dedicated vendor(s), waitstaff
   

7. Vendor/staff selection
   

8. Profit-sharing
   

9. Pressures on library staff to act as waitstaff and/or food service intermediaries
   

10. Transitional elements/scheduling/planning
    

11. Service support planning (dedicated website, website links/pointers, other promotion, etc.)
    

12. Menu planning (patron vs facility) /customer and service demands
    

13. Pricing and packaging
    

14. Construction issues
    

15. "Satellite" stations and vending supplements to cafe service
    

16. Equipment/equipment support
    

17. Cafe services as outreach/PR
    

18. 
    

And of course,

1. Tie-in opportunities for "Information commons" and EEA services.

An example business plan.

An example Request for Proposal, eliciting a vendor bid.

Additional supporting information for vendor-related RFPs can be found here.

Announcement to staff here.